Magic Misled (Lizzie Grace #7) - Keri Arthur Page 0,84
could go wrong in there.”
She frowned. “Then maybe I should call in—”
“No, because it could just be my natural propensity to think the worst will happen in any given situation.”
She snorted and walked around to the rear of her SUV. “From my experience, your instincts are generally spot-on.”
She strapped on her weapon, then unlocked the double metal doors and pushed one open. The air inside smelled as sweet as fairy floss, and my stomach rumbled a reminder that I hadn’t actually eaten much over the course of the day.
There was an office area to our right and a locker and bathroom area to our left. The corridor led us down through a series of other rooms—storage, refrigeration, and the like—before opening into a large room that held a multitude of different types of machinery and processing lines. Metal grating and non-slip mats lined the walkways and would make moving without making much noise a little more difficult.
Light filtered in from the regularly placed skylights along the roof, but none were broken. An internal wall ran the length of the left side of the building, and a number of doors led off it. My gaze unerringly went to the third of the five.
That’s where the ladder was.
That’s where my percolating unease was centered.
“I’m not smelling anything other than sugar,” Jaz murmured. “And there’s no indication of a break-in.”
“I doubt she’d be here—it’s not exactly the most comfortable area to bunk down in.” I motioned to the left. “This way.”
I moved on, my gaze on the door and my hands still clenched against the pulse of magic. The unease ratcheted several notches when we once again neared the midpoint of the building. I stopped to the right of the door and motioned toward Jaz’s gun. She silently drew it, then wrapped her fingers around the handle and raised an eyebrow.
I nodded. Tension crawled through me, and I half raised a hand, ready to throw the magic that now burned across my fingertips.
She thrust open the door, then flowed through to the left, her gun raised as she scanned the hall beyond. I went right and pressed back against the door, gaze sweeping the shadows, looking for the source of the threat and finding nothing.
Nothing here, anyway.
There was a door to Jaz’s left and two more to my right. Whatever I was sensing, it was coming from the last on the right.
I motioned toward it. Jaz nodded but held up a finger, bidding me to wait as she moved left and slipped into that room. She reappeared a few seconds later and shook her head.
Relief stirred, even though I’d expected nothing else.
I took a deep breath that did little to ease the tension, then turned and walked quietly down the hall. Jaz touched my shoulder as I passed the second door, and I paused, waiting while she checked out the room. My gaze remained on the final door; if our quarry was in there, she’d surely be aware of our presence by now. We were being as quiet as possible, but the metal grating meant our footsteps were audible to anyone with wolf-keen hearing.
Jaz came back out into the hallway and touched my shoulder again. I moved on, gaze still on the door, half expecting it to open and unleash hell and fury on us both.
That it didn’t only ramped up the tension.
We reached the door. I gripped the handle, my fingers trembling and my gut churning. Jaz moved to the other side and held up three fingers. As the last finger dropped, I thrust the door open, and we went in as one.
No response.
No immediate sign that anyone or anything had been in here recently.
It was a large plant room, packed with pipes and tubing of all sizes, boilers, backup generators, and who knew what else. I studied the area, my back pressed against the wall and sparks spinning across my fingertips. I couldn’t restrain it, so if she was here and did sense the energy, I hoped she’d think it was something to do with one of the nearby machines.
Unlikely, but still …
A quick look at the ceiling proved my earlier guess had been right; while the skylight in this room wasn’t broken, it had been propped open with a rusty bit of metal, allowing easy entry and exit without being too noticeable by whatever security guards this place had.
I pointed up. Jaz nodded, then touched her nose and motioned me to follow her. She obviously smelled something. I drew in